Aimee StoutSpring 2009Education 356

Ring-O

Amazon: To say that this particular apple tree is a "giving tree" is an understatement. In

Shel Silverstein's popular tale of few words and simple line drawings, a tree starts out as a leafy playground, shade provider, and apple bearer for a rambunctious little boy. Making the boy happy makes the tree happy, but with time it becomes more challenging for the generous tree to meet his needs. When he asks for money, she suggests that he sell her apples. When he asks for a house, she offers her branches for lumber. When the boy is old, too old and sad to play in the tree, he asks the tree for a boat. She suggests that he cut her down to a stump so he can craft a boat out of her trunk. He unthinkingly does it. At this point in the story, the double-page spread shows a pathetic solitary stump, poignantly cut down to the heart the boy once carved into the tree as a child that said "M.E. + T." "And then the tree was happy... but not really." When there's nothing left of her, the boy returns again as an old man, needing a quiet place to sit and rest. The stump offers up her services, and he sits on it. "And the tree was happy." While the message of this book is unclear (Take and take and take? Give and give and give? Complete self-sacrifice is good? Complete self-sacrifice is infinitely sad?), Silverstein has perhaps deliberately left the book open to interpretation. (All ages) --Karin Snelson

The Giving TreeShel Silverstein

Activity-1. Assign students to groups.2. Put each group at a table where they can share.3. The teacher will have prepared two bags full of leaves. 4. Pass out finger paints to the students.5. Give each student a piece of huge paper.6. Allow students to paint on paper using the leaves and their fingers. 7. Have them describe their picture while the class has their eyes

closed. Science- 2.4.5 Recognize and explain that materials in nature, such as

grass, twigs, sticks, and leaves, can be recycled and used again, sometimes in different forms, such as in birds' nests.

English- 2.7.14 Provide descriptions with careful attention to sensory detail.

Gardner- Bodily/Kinesthetic (painting with leaves)

The Giving TreeShel Silverstein

Activity-1. Read the book.2. Ask students if they have ever talked to a tree.3. Ask students if the tree has ever talked back.4. Have students write a song about a conversation they

would have with a plant. It could be tree, flower, or weed. 5. They can draw a picture to go along with their song. Science: 1.4.1 Identify when stories give attributes to plants

and animals, such as the ability to speak, that they really do not have.

English- 1.5.3- Write rhymes and simple poems.Gardner-Musical writing a song.

The Giving TreeShel Silverstein

Amazon-Come in . . . for where the sidewalk ends, Shel

Silverstein's world begins. You'll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist. Shel Silverstein's masterful collection of poems and drawings is at once outrageously funny and profound.

Where The Sidewalk EndsShel Silverstein

Activity-1. Read the poem “One Inch Tall” on pg. 552. Provide students with different objects to measure

1. An eraser, chalk, pencil, ect…3. Have them round their answers to the nearest half inch.

4. Have students record their answers and turn them in. Math- 3.5.1 Measure line segments to the nearest half-

inch.English- 3.7.1 Follow three- and four-step oral directions. Gardner- Logical- students are taking measurements.

Where The Sidewalk EndsShel Silverstein

Activity-1. Read the poem “Smart” on page 35. 2. Split students into groups of four. 3. Have students answer these questions:

1. How much money did he start with?2. How much did he end up with?3. How much did he lose all together?4. Was dad really proud?Math- 3.5.10 Find the value of a collection of coins and dollars.

Write amounts less than a dollar using the ¢ symbol and write larger amounts in decimal notation using the $ symbol.

English- 3.3.8 Identify the problem and solutions in a story.Gardner: Logical Students are adding money.

Where The Sidewalk EndsShel Silverstein

Amazon- It was missing a piece.And it was not happy.So it set off in searchof its missing piece.And as it rolledit sang this song -Oh I'm lookin' for my missin' pieceI'm lookin' for my missin' pieceHi-dee-ho, here I go,Lookin' for my missin' piece.What it finds on its search for the missing piece is simply and touchingly told in this fable that gently probes the nature of quest and fulfillment.

THE MISSING PIECESHEL

SILVERSTEIN

Activity-1. Provide students with five or more circles with a

piece missing. 2. Provide the missing pieces.3. Make sure they are all different sizes. 4. Have students find the matches. Math- 1.4.1 Identify, describe, compare, sort, and

draw triangles, rectangles, squares, and circles. English- 1.7.1 Comprehension:

Listen attentively.Gardner- Logical Sorting shapes.

THE MISSING PIECESHEL

SILVERSTEIN

Amazon- The tiny town of Chewandswallow was very much like any other tiny town except for its weather which came three times a day, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. But it never rained rain and it never snowed snow and it never blew just wind. It rained things like soup and juice. It snowed things like mashed potatoes. And sometimes the wind blew in storms of hamburgers. Life for the townspeople was delicious until the weather took a turn for the worse. The food got larger and larger and so did the portions. Chewandswallow was plagues by damaging floods and storms of huge food. The town was a mess and the pople feared for their lives. Something had to be done, and in a hurry. END

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Activity- 1. Give students logos to build a town. 2. Now they have to use play dough to make food that is

from the book. 3. By placing the food on the town, they are building a

model of the town. Science- 2.6.2 Observe and explain that models may not be

the same size, may be missing some details, or may not be able to do all of the same things as the real things.

English- 2.7.4 Give and follow three- and four-step oral directions.

Gardner- Visual/Spatial- students are building a model.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Amazon- From Publishers WeeklyPlucky barnyard denizens unite to improve their working conditions in this hilarious debut picture book from Cronin (appropriately enough, an attorney). Farmer Brown is dumbfounded when his cows discover an old typewriter in the barn and begin experimenting ("All day long he hears click, clack, moo. Click, clack, moo. Clickety clack moo"). Things really get out of hand when the cows began airing their grievances. Lewin (Araminta's Paint Box) conveys the fellow's shock as he reads: "Dear Farmer Brown, The barn is very cold at night. We'd like some electric blankets. Sincerely, The Cows." When Farmer Brown denies the cows' request, the bovine organizers go on strike. Through the use of the man's shadow, Lewin communicates his rage: the straw in his hat creates the appearance of his hair on end. With help from a neutral duck mediator, the exasperated Farmer Brown finally makes concessions. But, much to his dismay, the cows are not the only creatures that can type. Cronin humorously turns the tables on conventional barnyard dynamics; Lewin's bold, loose-lined watercolors set a light and easygoing mood that matches Farmer Brown's very funny predicament. Kids and underdogs everywhere will cheer for the clever critters that calmly and politely stand up for their rights, while their human caretaker becomes more and more unglued. Ages 3-7. (Feb.)

Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type

Activity- 1. Have a sheet with pictures of different

animals. 2. Have them circle the animals that you would

find at a farm.1. Animals-elephant, pig, cow, duck, sheep,

horse, donkey, cat, dog, lion, monkey, alligator, giraffe, and caterpillar.

Science- K.4. 1 Give examples of plants and animals.

English- K.7.1 Understand and follow one- and two-step spoken directions.

Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type

Activity- 1. Have students read the book.2. Have them list the items that the animals wanted and why

they wanted them. 3. Have students pick a different animal not in the book.4. They can think of a human item that animal may want and

how that may help them in their environment. 5. They can draw a picture to go with their animal.Science- 2.4.1 Observe and identify different external features of

plants and animals and describe how these features help them live in different environments.

English- 2.4.1 Organization and Focus:Create a list of ideas for writing.

Gardner- Linguistic- writing about their animal.

Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type

Amazon-From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2?A note states that this trickster tale has "roots in European folktales and slave stories of the American South." Lazy Bear sleeps through every planting season, so conniving Hare makes a deal. He and his family will work Bear's land and split the crops in half. He'll even let Bear choose which half he wants?"tops or bottoms." Bear chooses tops so Hare plants root crops, leaving Bear with a useless harvest. A furious Bear insists next time he'll take bottoms so Hare plants corn, leaving empty stalks. The entertaining story is illustrated with Stevens's now familiar artwork?lively, colorful line-and-wash spreads filled with sprightly characters and humorous details. The contrast between the slumbering bear and the frantically energetic hare family is especially amusing. Unfortunately, some illustrations are marred by the placement of the boxed text. The book opens vertically rather than horizontally; while this design element is a clever complement to the growing theme, it is not completely successful. At times, the visual flow is interrupted. The narration is also somewhat awkward. Despite the obvious flaws, this title is sure to be popular with Stevens's fans and youngsters who crave "funny books."?

Tops and Bottoms

Activity-1. Have students list the vegetables that rabbit tricks

bear with. 2. Have students name use adjectives to describe

these vegetables. 3. Remind them that an adjective is a describing word. Science 1.4.2 Observe and describe that there can be

differences, such as size or markings, among the individuals within one kind of plant or animal group.

English- 1.5.4 Use descriptive words when writing.Gardner- Linguistic using adjectives

Tops and Bottoms

Activity-1. Have students decide whether the story is fantasy or

reality. 2. Have them tell a partner the reasons why it is

fantasy.3. They can each choose one and draw a picture to

match a reason. Science- 1.4.1 Identify when stories give attributes to

plants and animals, such as the ability to speak, that they really do not have.

English- 1.3.4 Distinguish fantasy from reality.Gardner- interpersonal- partner work.

Tops and Bottoms